


since we've no place to go

by challa (inflouence)



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Asgard, Ice Skating, M/M, Wakanda, also he's really good at skating, better than he should be, panthor, t'challa might be scared of a little ice, thor is staying in wakanda post avengers:endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 03:45:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17154689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inflouence/pseuds/challa
Summary: “You’d think the graceful, strong, Black Panther wouldn’t be scared of a little ice. What’s the worst it could do?”“It could kill me.”“Oh, come on. It can’t kill you.”“It could if it wanted to. Like you said, my fingers could be sliced off.”“You got pushed off of a waterfall. And lived. I think you’re good.”Or, Thor and T'Challa ice skate, except there's a little bit more to it than that.





	since we've no place to go

**Author's Note:**

> for liv, since we came up with this together.
> 
> find me on twitter @challathor

Thor tightened his skates, pulling the laces and looping them repeatedly until they were snug on his right foot. Once satisfied, he shifted to his left, holding it out in front of him and doing the same. 

“You don’t have to just sit there and watch me, you know,” Thor said, standing up. He carefully stepped onto the ice, gaining balance quickly. “There might be room enough for two.” He snorted at his little joke.

“No, I think I’m perfectly fine right here.” T’Challa smiled knowingly. “Where it is safe.” He had his hands crossed behind his back, clad in his daily attire of Wakandan traditional clothing as opposed to Thor’s choice of a hoodie and jacket.

Thor hummed. “Suit yourself.” He pushed off on the ice, starting off slowly before speeding up and spinning. After a few long glides, he turned around quickly and was able to bring himself to a graceful halt. “Jealous yet?”

“You are showing off.” T’Challa looked as though he was resisting rolling his eyes. Thor began gliding away again and the king walked slowly down the length of the rink, following him. 

“I have nothing better to do,” Thor said. He moved to the opposite side of the rink. “It helps. Blow off some steam, or…” He frowned. “Something...colder.”

“I don’t skate,” T’Challa replied definitively.

Thor came back around and paused in front of the other man. “Yeah, you don’t skate, you never freeze, this is no place to die. We’ve heard it all before, King.” Thor winked.

T’Challa gripped the edges of the rink in thought. “I don’t appreciate you taunting me.”

“Taunting? Who’s taunting?” Thor feigned surprise. “I would never.” With a smirk, he was off again. He slid across the indoor rink, forgetting momentarily about everything else, lost in his thoughts. For a second he was on Asgard, Loki was off somewhere stirring up trouble, his friends were chasing behind him and his mother was in the palace. But when he turned around again he was right back in Wakanda, no brother, his warrior friends gone, his mother too. 

He straightened up. T’Challa was now sitting on the bench, tightening his skates, pulling the laces and looping them repeatedly until they were snug on his right foot. Once satisfied, he shifted to his left.

“Look who caved in!” Thor’s called.

“I don’t like taunting,” T’Challa muttered.

Thor cupped his hand around his ear. “What was that?” He skated closer as T’Challa stood up. He walked closer to the ice and tried to enter the rink but immediately began wobbling.

“Woah there,” Thor said, trying to hold back laughter. “Be careful.” He gripped onto T’Challa’s arm to steady him. “These vibranium skates could do a number on someone’s fingers.”

“I know,” T’Challa said. “I helped design them.”

Thor was pleasantly surprised. “Really?”

“The blades are of my own design, yes,” the King continued. “Efficient, thin, but yet with enough balance for the average skater. The skates themselves are sleek too, I might add.” 

“Yet you yourself lack balance,” Thor noted.

At that moment, T’Challa wobbled once more. His eyes widened in fear and Thor couldn’t help snickering. T’Challa gave him a dirty look.

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized. “I do taunt.”

Thor tried to help T’Challa along, slowly. “Do  _ not _ let go of me,” T’Challa was saying. “Do you hear?”

“You’d think the graceful, strong, Black Panther wouldn’t be scared of a little ice. What’s the worst it could do?”

“It could kill me.”

“Oh, come on. It can’t kill you.”

“It could if it wanted to. Like you said, my fingers could be sliced off.”

“You got pushed off of a waterfall. And lived. I think you’re good.”

T’Challa made an indignant ‘hmph’ sound and shook his arm out of Thor’s grip, opting to just stand still, balancing himself with the edge of the rink. “Go.”

“Too far?” Thor stood next to him. He paused, taking a deep breath. He took a moment to soak in the atmosphere. He had never actually looked too closely at the rink they were in. On Asgard the ice was outside, in the mountains, with kids scurrying around and snow hitting in their faces, laughter filling the air. In Wakanda the scene was different; they were indoors but the walls of the rink showed an image, one of white skies and bare trees, wind rustling snowflakes around ever so often. It was artificial, yet it was calming.

“That was my sister’s idea,” T’Challa spoke softly. “I did the skates, but she wanted the rinks to be customizable. We could change the scene if you want.”

“No, no,” Thor shook his head. He did want a change of scenery, yes, but it wasn’t anything T’Challa or Shuri knew of. 

Thor reached out for T’Challa once again but he shook his head. “I’m tired of this.”

“You barely skated.”

T’Challa shrugged, so Thor pushed off. He went slowly around the circumference of the rink, gazing at the walls. He paused and reached out to touch it. His palm rested upon a glass panel instead of a tree.

“Tell me about it,” T’Challa spoke up again.

“About what?” Thor didn’t turn around.

“Asgard. What was it like?” He gestured to the ice. “When you learned to skate.”

Thor’s fingers grazed his beard in thought. “Cold. Freezing. Winters on Asgard, they were very cold. But the sky…” Thor pushed his palm upwards, touching the white sky on the panel. “It was blue. Clear and blue right after a snowstorm, but still with its normal vibrant streaks of pink. The moons faded behind the pink. The mountains—that’s where the ice was—they sat in front of the clouds, majestic, but it was quiet. The snow fell over them like a hush, and if you went at just the right time, when it’s just you or you and your closest friends, the sound of the blades hitting the ice was enough.” He tapped the glass. “The lake that froze over was what we skated on. And the view—the view, T’Challa, it was like no other. All the buildings and the beauty of Asgard, right between the mountains, like the curtains at the edges of a glorious stage—”

Thor turned around. T’Challa was looking at him, not on the ice, but sitting on the bench. The Asgardian frowned and shook his head.

“But it’s gone now,” he said. He cast away his eyes. “I think we should head in, I’m sure you have business to attend to.”

Thor exited the rink from the opposite side. There was no use in mulling over the past.

  
  
  
  


They stayed away from the rink for some time. Thor instead wasted away his days at the markets, or perhaps feeding the rhinos. He didn’t see T’Challa often but that was fine. T’Challa, who had a nation to lead, a people to guide, something Thor no longer had the privilege of doing. Sometimes he called Steve if the other man wasn’t busy (he wasn’t sure what Steve could be doing anyway, as he had long since retired his title of Captain America), or he would stand on the balcony of his bedroom and wonder where everything had gone wrong.

Some time later, T’Challa had somehow pulled him back to the rink.

“You need to blow off some steam,” the King of Wakanda said. “Or, something colder.”

Thor let out a loud laugh. “Funny. You’re funny.”

The two sat beside each other, tying up their ice skates and making jokes. Outside of the building the Dora Milaje stood with their spears, ready to protect if need be. Thor made a quip about that, causing T’Challa to push him away. They laughed and then entered the ice.

“Oh, almost forgot,” T’Challa said. He flipped over his wrist, touching a kimoyo bead. “One small detail.”

The scene on the glass panels began to slowly fade away. Thor was confused for a moment. He looked at the man beside him questioningly until the white sky turned clear and blue, like right after a snowstorm, but still with vibrant streaks of pink. Behind the pink sat many moons. A hush fell over the rink and the mountains came into view. And right between the mountains, like the curtains at the edges of a glorious stage were the buildings and the beauty of Asgard.

The words caught in Thor’s throat. He quickly skated forward until he was in the middle of the rink, turning slowly in a 360 to take everything in. It was exactly as he’d described it and more. He didn’t understand—he didn’t know why someone would take the time to do something like this for him.

“I asked Shuri for help, of course,” T’Challa scratched at his head. He appeared nervous as he spoke. “She helped with the detailing, I just fed her everything you’d told me.” 

Thor hadn’t even noticed when T’Challa had joined his side. He reached out just as he had before, his fingers wanting to graze the wall, but T’Challa grabbed his hand to stop him. “If you don’t touch it, you can pretend it’s real,” he whispers. And yeah. Thor is so okay with that.

The two are still holding hands and T’Challa moves to pull away but Thor only holds it tighter. T’Challa looked down at the connection, confused. 

“What are you doing, Thunderer?” he asks.

Thor smirks. He couldn’t believe that someone could be so kind, after all the crap he’d seen in these nine realms. “You said not to touch so it could be real. But, I have to touch to make sure you are.”

T’Challa snorted. “That was way too cheesy. You can come up with something better.” He was still grinning, though.

“What can I say? I’m a man of many talents,” Thor joked.

T’Challa shook his head, still smiling widely, and placed his hands over Thor’s before removing it. “Yes, well there are a few details you may have missed that Shuri thought were important to add.” He trailed off and began to skate away, heading towards the edge of the rink.

“Wait a damn minute,” Thor said. “You  _ can _ skate, you liar.”

T’Challa answered by doing a a few spins, halting as gracefully as he’d started. “Yeah, I don’t skate, I never freeze, this is no place to die. We’ve heard it all before.” 

  
  
  
  



End file.
